The search for the Brooklyn Nets’ next general manager and head coach is ongoing, and while Kentucky’s John Calipari was viewed as a candidate to fill both vacancies, team owner Mikhail Prokhorov and crew are now believed to be looking elsewhere.
From Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski:
Two Western Conference executives have moved into prominent consideration with Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry for the Brooklyn Nets’ general manager job, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Denver Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Houston Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas have emerged as serious candidates in the process, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The Nets have expressed a desire to have a GM in place prior to the Feb. 18 trade deadline, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Formal interviews are expected to begin in early February.
So far, ownership has balked at the idea of paying Kentucky coach John Calipari the $120 million package he’s seeking for a return to the NBA, league sources said.
Makes sense on all fronts.
Committing 10 years and $120 million to someone who has never had success at the NBA level is one helluva gambit. Calipari definitely has the clout necessary to earn meetings with free agents, and Brooklyn’s next general manager/head coach, under the rather hopeless circumstances, deserves ample job security, but 10 years is a long time.
Though it’s possible the Nets could revisit the Calipari option over the offseason, his link to the job is getting weaker and weaker—especially if the team does, in fact want to put someone in place before the college basketball season is even over.
